La Jolla Secret Garden Tour Photos

Let's walk down this brick path together and enjoy the La Jolla, CA

Secret Garden Tour 2009...

It was a nice aesthetic break from my writing assignments to spend last Saturday with my hubby Steve on our annual La Jolla, CA Secret Garden Tour. One of the homes on the tour was the Darlington House shown above, which is used for weddings and other events.

A harpist played beautiful soft melodies as we walked through the gardens...

And artists painted and various interior designers set beautiful tables for us all to enjoy...

A picnic table was set up deep in a hillside canyon...a quiet place for rest and rejuvenation...

How about a a little pond wading?

Numerous interior designers set up table vignettes and I especially liked this one with its colorful lemons and red accents.

An Asian-inspired bridge overlooked this beautiful canyon and the Pacific Ocean.

How about a dip in the backyard pool?

There were few flowers on the tour this year. Most of the homes showed lovely landscaping with just greenery. But I did notice these beautiful roses.

I thought these green apples in this planter were a clever touch.

It was a sultry but beautiful day with the Pacific Ocean in the background.

I loved this Asian themed table with its vibrant blue and red.

One of the homes was an "outdoor art studio" where the neighborhood children could come to paint on the walls. How fun! Count me in!

Let's sit a bit and drink in the fresh ocean air...

I loved this sweet little bird nest on this table setting...

And this beautiful old tree made me smile....

As did this little birdhouse on this bench...

This gnome hides in one of the gardens every year. He's a real man!

Hubby Steve enjoying the view...

I also loved this "Old World" wall vignette of aged planters and artifacts.

I hope you enjoyed the 2009 La Jolla, CA Secret Garden Tour!

Continue to Bloom!

Kathryn

http://www.kathrynbechenink.com/

LaJolla Secret Garden Tour

Hubby Steve and I attended the LaJolla Secret Garden Tour yesterday. I'll be showing you photos as soon as I can. I'm on tight magazine writing deadlines again but will use my blog and Social Networking for a little "aesthetic stress relief." :) I'm on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn now, and you can find my links on the right side of my blog.

Bless you,
Kathryn
http://www.kathrynbechenink.com/

Palm Springs Area Photo Tour

Cimarron Raintree Golf Course Resort in Cathedral City, CA

Dear Blog Friends,

My hubby Steve and I returned home from the Palm Springs area a week or so ago where we vacationed. It's a lovely desert area filled with things to do and beautiful mountain scenery so if you're looking for a fun place in the sun to get away from it all, here's the tour:

We stayed in our RCI timeshare at the Cimarron Raintree Golf Resort in Cathedral City where these two little friends greeted us each morning. The staff there was delightful and very customer-service oriented, but we were both a bit disappointed in the resort which was basically low-end condos that had not sold now being rented as vacation timeshares. Ordinarily RCI timeshares are very plush, so we were surprised this time.

If you like little bistros with big ambiance, my favorite French restaurant, Cafe des Beau-Arts, in Palm Desert is for you. Lovely art on the walls, sweet music, looks out onto a street boulevard filled with flowers and fine shops. Aesthetics abound. A feast for the senses; I love it!

There's something about the green tablecloths and peach napkins that makes me smile...

Another place you'll want to be sure to check out if you go there, is the Marriott in Palm Desert. There's an indoor/outdoor lake that is in their lobby and a boat takes you out on the outdoor lake! It's really spectacular and they have more than one wonderful restaurant there which we always partake of. I have not stayed at the facility so can't comment on that. They always have beautiful flowers to greet you right when you walk into the entrance, and at Christmas time, this place is REALLY something special!

We enjoyed dinner at the Palm Desert Marriot's lakeside restaurant.

Looking out onto the lake with the mountains in the background. This photo was taken through a window so is not as clear as it could be; it's actually much prettier than this.

The lake at night. They have a big outdoor movie screen where you can watch an outdoor movie while sitting over the lake.

Old Town LaQuinta is an area that has sprung up in the desert in the past about ten years. I had not been here before and I loved it! New buildings made to look old; some wonderfully lovely architecture.

See what I mean?

The streets are lined with bougainvillea too, which makes it colorful and beautiful.

One of my hubby's business associates and her husband took us to dinner at the Arnold Palmer Restaurant. He lives in the area. The food was spectacular and memorabilia from his fascinating career lines every inch of the walls--great fun.

Driving up to the Arnold Palmer restaurant, with the beautiful mountains in the background.

One of my favorite authors, Mark Twain, also resides in Palm Desert! :)

Aren't the flowers in the boulevard on Paseo Drive in Palm Desert pretty? This is an exclusive shopping area. I don't buy things in their stores because they're Rodeo Drive prices, but I love to look because it's design beauty at its best.

Paseo Drive also has many fountains and other sculptural things of interest.

Hope you enjoyed my tour of the Palm Springs/Palm Desert area in CA!

Bless you,

Kathryn

http://www.kathrynbechenink.com/

LaJolla Secret Garden Tour

Taking a break from client work today and this weekend to attend the LaJolla Secret Garden Tour with my hubby. Enjoy your weekend!

Desert Design

Come into my fantasy castle....

Dear Blog Friends,

While on my vacation in the desert with hubby Steve, we took some time one day just for fun to tour several model homes as I love to look at the decor to get ideas and further increase my decorating education. Well by now you know I'm house and home obsessed so please forgive me if before I show you the lovely photos of the desert, I take you on a little model home tour and point out the things I loved about some of the homes, and the things I was not personally so wild about. How about you? Any favorites here?

I'm always up for an elegant dinner party and one at this table would be just my cup of tea...

And a little champagne, perhaps? (I personally drink "faux champagne"--Martinelli's!)

I really liked these double front doors with the arched window above--lots of nice light.

And the sweet toile chair for quiet reading after a dip in "my" bedside swimming pool would be great...


I thought this French bed was to die for...reminds me of a B&B inn. (Another of my home obsessions.)
I gotta tell you, if I had the flu, this is the last bathroom I'd want to be sick in!

I have a love/hate affair with this green wall, but I do think they did an awesome job of matching it to the painting.

I adore these chairs!

The photo here doesn't do it justice, but I loved this very open living dining area which had French doors opening out onto a wonderful swimming pool. Ah, to have a party and then go for a dip!!

I found this Old World style table simply yummy!

And I loved this entryway buffet.

I also loved how they painted this wall inset green. Nice touch!

A clever little touch with the butterflies. I have no idea how they attached them. Glue gun?

I loved this soffit lighting. I imagine at night it would be romantically dreamy!

I also thought these monogrammed linens were a classy touch.

I also love this buffet with this mirror. Adds a bit of a glamour don't you think?

And although I am not usually into moderne, I loved this dining room and the painting. Soft colors. No clutter. Clean lines. Nice!

I also love the elegant fabric on these chairs.

Brown and aqua are scrumptious together, don't you think?

I also LOVED this green chest and mirror and the shell vignette. Quirkily classy.

This would be a nice inexpensive touch to put loofahs in a big clear container.

Calgon, take me away! (Right Mary?!)

A cute touch with the netting, but dangerous for a young child in my opinion.

And I guess since even Queens in castles have laundry to do, it's much more easily done if you don't have to bend over to do it! Now why didn't they think of this years ago, anyway?!

I hope you enjoyed the model home tour! Now it's back to reality and I'm off to bed.

'Til Next Time!

Kathryn :)

http://www.kathrynbechenink.com/